


Wake the White Wolf at the Dawn of War

by Rene_Dullahan



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender, Norse Religion & Lore - Freeform
Genre: Aang is Naive, Badass Sokka, Badass Zuko, Because they won't stop bugging me about it, For a Friend, I Will Go Down With This Ship, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, M/M, Shapeshifter Sokka, Sokka is a Master Tactician, Werewolf Sokka, Zuko is a duel wielder, and thinks he can fix the world with hugs and rainbows
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-27
Updated: 2017-05-27
Packaged: 2018-11-05 11:41:40
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 883
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11012721
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rene_Dullahan/pseuds/Rene_Dullahan
Summary: When Sokka was young his father used to tell him stories about the before times. Before the Fire Nation unleashed their armies; before the Avatar; before Bending. The boy loved the stories of how the ancient warriors of his tribe defended it with their wits, strength, and skill.Sometimes, Sokka could still hear the words his father whispered to him the night before he and the other men left for the war: “Sokka, it is the nature of our people to be kind, gentle, and loving. But remember, when it comes to matters of protecting our friends, our family, our pack, and our hearts, do not be afraid to show the world we are not to be trifled with. Never bow your head. Always hold it high. Look the world straight in the eye.”





	Wake the White Wolf at the Dawn of War

**Author's Note:**

> I know, I Know, I already have a story that is in the works and I should probably be working on that. But I had to post this! (Even though I don't have much of it)  
> If you like this please tell me, I love hearing your feedback. And tell me if you want more, I will try to post another chapter soon, but I make no promises.  
> If I get a good response I will most likely come back and clean it up.  
> The title is from the song Wake the White Wolf by Miracle of Sound on youtube go listen to it, it's amazing.

       Among the Water Tribes, there are many myths of ancient conflicts, heroes, and beasts. One such myth is that of a great wolf, it’s name forgotten, lost to the ice tundra the Tribes call home.

       The Wolf, one of the three children of The Trickster, was of remarkable size and strength and had a multitude of stories woven about it, the most prodigious myth painting a picture of bravery for one spirit and an omen of death for the rest of them. This great beast, unfortunately for both Mortals and spirits alike, turned out to be one of the many foreshadowing signs of a prophesized carnage that would engulf the entirety of the Four great Nations.

       This tale begins, as any tale should, with an unlikely and terrible birth.  When the Great Wolf was born, along with his other siblings, the Great Serpent and The Face Stealer, the Spirits assembled a council to discuss what to do with these three very dangerous beings—all of whom were prophesied to aid in the future destruction of the mortal and spiritual worlds.  The Face Stealer was sent to the caves of the forgotten, a very cold and dark place, while The Great Serpent was sent into the sea, to remain submerged until the end of days.  The Wolf, however, posed a much more dangerous problem. While the thief and serpent could be sent away, it was growing at a rapid speed, and soon becoming a glacier among snowflakes, as it were.  To protect the two worlds from his size and the terrible fate they knew would one day come, they decided that the wolf needed to be contained.

       Three different types of bindings were created before the spirits were successful in confining the wolf. The first was a chain of spiritually augmented obsidian called Leyding. It did not last long, as one sharp kick from its would be prisoner snapped the chain apart. The second attempted binding was twice as strong as Leyding and was known as Dromi, and though it took the wolf longer to break, it did meet the same fate as the first. By the third attempt the spirits knew they needed skill beyond their own. Word was sent to all the great blacksmiths they were to gather. These master craftsmen spent years hammering, melting, and shaping. Precious time was spent, but they finally managed to craft a chain powerful enough to prevent the giant wolf from escaping. The blacksmiths soon presented the spirit council with Gleipnir, a shackle made of six mythical ingredients: the sound of a cat's feet, the roots of a mountain, a bear's sinews, a woman's beard, a fish's breath, and a bird's spit. With these six ingredients—supposedly no longer in existence today due to this procedure—the resulting chain was as smooth as ribbon, but as strong as iron would be to mortals.  When the binding was to be placed upon Fenrir on the island of Lyngvi, even the wolf doubted his ability to escape. And when the gods goaded him into trying to break free, the beast demanded a show of good faith before allowing it to be put upon him.

       The law keeper of the council, Tyr stepped forward then and placed his hand in the mouth of the wolf, the spirit brave enough to risk himself for the good of the whole.  Only then did the wolf allow himself to be chained again, the goading as successful a tactic as Tyr's bravery. Every attempt the wolf made to be freed turned out to be fruitless.  In anger at his failure and the spirits' ability to entrap him, the wolf snapped off Tyr's hand. Relieved that the doom bringer was bound, the spirits looped Glepinir's cord, Gelgja, through a massive stone slab called Gjöll, and anchored it with a large rock known as Thviti, effectively binding the bahimith permanently to one spot.  The wolf's unrelenting howls led to a sword being shoved between his jaws, the hilt keeping his mouth wide, silencing him until the prophesied time. Then and only then would the wolf see freedom.  The shaking of the earth and the uprooting of mountains would tear Gleipnir apart, unleashing the wolf on the mortal world, enabling him to swallow the Sun.

       The Wolf spent his life sealed away on an island far from other beings, kept in confinement until the fates of the worlds could no longer be prevented.  His story is an important one to be told, however, as his role is most the poignant of those of his fellow family members.  It is his father will lead the giants and the forces of the dead against the spirits when the time came, and his sibling The Great Serpent whose thrashing will set him loose from Gleipnir.  But it is The Great Wolf who will cut the connection between the Spirits and Mortals, and for that, He will always be remembered.

     Even after all this time the Warriors of the Southern Water Tribe still paint their faces in the likeness of the terrible beast, thinking that it will convince the waiting behemoth to favor them in battle, their war howls melding with those of the wolves. And sometimes the Warriors become their canine brethren.

     But that is just a myth.

     Right?


End file.
